When you see the best in the world do what it is they’re best at, it’s always a treat.  I imagine this is true regardless of what you’re watching.  My experience is of course primarily with ballet dancers.  In this instance, I’m talking about ice dancers.

I went up to Vancouver for a very quick trip to see Rock the Rink, the ice show for which Guillaume Côté choreographed a number for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.  Virtue and Moir are the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history. Technical ability and skating skill aside, they are especially known for their chemistry.  It’s the kind of chemistry that can’t be taught, and it was captivating to see in person.  Although they didn’t perform anything that called for the passion of their Moulin Rouge free skate (the skate that launched a thousand fans), you could still absolutely sense their connection.  It comes down to eye contact.  You can tell that they’re really looking at each other, and that is powerful.  When the two of them were skating, you simultaneously felt like you were intruding on an intimate moment yet as though you couldn’t look away.  At one point in the show, they skated to the song “Sway,” which goes, “Other dancers may be on the floor/Dear, but my eyes will see only you.”  That was exactly what was happening in the rink.  People were watching only two of the nine skaters on the ice.  It was rather amusing, actually:  they pulled focus even when they were literally just sitting at a table waiting to skate.  As performers, Virtue seems to light up the moment she starts moving.  And although she gets most of the attention, Moir matches her.  They’re absolute equals on the ice.

As I said, a big part of my motivation for attending was to see the pas de deux that Guillaume Côté created* for Virtue and Moir.  The pas, to the song “Wish You Were Here,” came in the first half of the evening.  I’ve rewatched it about a dozen times on YouTube trying to write about it—I feel like I don’t have the language to talk about skating.  “Lovely” isn’t enough to describe the duet; “beautiful” somehow reduces it to looks.  What strikes me most is how seamless it is.  There seem to be no transitions; it’s just one long uninterrupted flow of movement.  It includes lifts that are recognizably “them” (the audience went nuts when she flipped onto his shoulders) while looking very different from their usual routines.  Despite lots of partnering, there’s also lots of them dancing together, separately.  The piece’s intensity derives in part from the gestures, in particular the repetition of Moir holding Virtue’s face between his hands, and the evident feeling with which it was performed.  “Wish You Were Here” was also a great counterpoint to the start of the show, which had Virtue and Moir performing the first half of their 2018 short dance, set to “Sympathy for the Devil.”  (“It’s already worth it,” my friend said as the opening bars played.)  To go from that to the Côté pas was to see their versatility, from a dance that’s very outward-facing and showy to one that’s more introspective.  I’m still curious to know how movement gets translated from sneakers in a studio to blades gliding across ice.  Côté said it was a true collaboration.  I certainly wish I had been there!

[Watch “Wish You Were Here” here.  The dance begins around 30 seconds into the video.]

According to Côté, Virtue and Moir wanted to do something different/better/more than Stars on Ice.  I’m happy to say they succeeded!  Rock the Rink followed a similar format, but everything was better and more cohesive.  The individual numbers, early on, were a way of introducing the skaters to the audience.  The group numbers were fairly long, around 8-10 minutes apiece, each one built around a single concept:  a high-energy opener that set the tone; a nightclub number; an abstract number; a jukebox number; a meaningful closing.

All the group numbers were, I believe, choreographed* by Charlie White, the 2014 Olympic gold medalist in ice dance.  He did a good job.  The nightclub and jukebox scenes were entire self-contained worlds, almost like short stories, that made sure to feature everyone in the cast.  (They’re all Olympic medalists:  Jeremy Abbott, Patrick Chan, Carolina Kostner, Kaetlyn Osmond, Elvis Stojko, and a pairs team, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.)  The evening as a whole was engaging and fun and ended too soon.  I immediately wanted to see it all over again.

In a show setting, choreographers seem to have free rein.  There are recognizable skating elements, but much of the dancing is just that:  dancing.  Ballet has such an extensive vocabulary of its own, and nowadays it pulls from other dance idioms as well.  You build a ballet using all those steps, by name.  We know how Côté did it, but is that what White did?  I’m assuming all the group numbers were choreographed on the ice, by a skater for skaters.  Gosh, I had no idea how much this fascinated me.  I would love to attend an on-ice choreography session, if someone would like to invite me!

All of this to say—I was so glad to be there.  It was a dream come true to see Virtue and Moir live.  It was tremendously special to watch “Wish You Were Here” knowing that I had interviewed Côté about the creation process.  And like all performances, it was once in a lifetime.  No performance lives beyond its real-time duration.  Not even on film.  A recording can capture what was seen, but never what was felt by those who were there.

*My only real complaint with the show was that there was no program!  Programs serve three important purposes for audiences.  First of all, programs are informative.  They tell you who the performers are, as well as who did the choreography, the costumes, the lighting, and which recording of a song is being used.  A lot of work was put in by creative artists who deserve credit.  Second, programs serve as a guide to how the evening is going to unfold, which often has practical implications:  parking, babysitters, post-show plans.  Finally, programs are souvenirs!  Programs, even casting sheets, make wonderful keepsakes.  Proof that you were there.  Attention, Rock the Rink:  I will personally volunteer to make you a program if you send me the information.  There are plenty of shows still to go, and I guarantee audiences will appreciate it.

Rock the Rink
October 7, 2019, at 7:00 pm at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena at University of British Columbia